Poultry feeding system



June 14, 1960 a. w. ROSE ETAL 2,940,424

POULTRY FEEDING SYSTEM Original Filed April 29, 1954 7 Shuts-Sheet X TI I3 .l7 TI E lEI INVENTORS BOYD W. ROSE HAROLD VI. HART .Y Q W ATTORNEY June 14, 1960 a. w. ROSE EI'AL POULTRY FEEDING SYSTEM Original Filed April 29, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y INVENTORS BOYD w. ROSE HAROLD w. HART BY #pu/j ATTORNEY June 14, 1 960 B. w. ROSE El'AL 2,940,424

POULTRY FEEDING SYSTEM Original Filed April 29, 1954 '7 Sheets-Sheet 3 o ;&

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POULTRY FEEDING SYSTEM original Filed April 29, 1954 Sheets-Sheet-4 INVENTORS BOYD W. ROSE HAROLD W. HART BY M ATTORNEY June 14, 1960 a. w. ROSE ETAL 2,940,424

POULTRY FEEDING SYSTEM Original Filed April 29, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVIN'I'ORS BOYD W. ROSE HAROLD W. HART ATTORNEY June 14, 1960 a. w. ROSE ETAL 2,940,424

POULTRY FEEDING SYSTEM Original Filed April 29, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 L0 0 mvsmons (I) 0 nova w. nose HAROLD w. an?

ATTORNEY June 14, 1960 a. w. ROSE EIAL 2,940,424

POULTRY FEEDING SYSTEM Original Filed April 29, 1954 7 Shets-Sheet 7 INVENTORS BOYD W. ROSE ATTORNEY United States Patent POULTRY FEEDING SYSTEM Boyd Rose, Riverside, and Harold W. Hart, Glendale, Cahl.; said Rose asslgnor to Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Original application Apr. 29, 1954, Ser. No. 426,488,

now Patent No. 2,794,421, dated June 4, 1957. Divisdgeisgnd this application Jan. 17, 1956, Ser. No.

17 Claims. (CL 119-53) The present application is a division of the copending joint application of Boyd W. Rose and Harold W. Hart, Ser. No. 426,488, filed April 29, 1954, now Patent No. 2,794,421.

This invention pertains to poultry feeding apparatus and more particularly to an improved poultry feeder for automatically taking mash, grain, pellets or other feed from a supply hopper and distributing it in and along one or more open feeding troughs so that the feed is available to the poultry.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved poultry feeding system for distributing feed to a plurality of feeding stations.

Another object is to provide a poultry feeding system having an improved hopper for storing feed before and during the delivery of feed through the system.

Another object is to provide an improved means for preventing caking or channeling of feed in a storage hopper.

Another object is to provide a poultry feeder having means for controlling the rate at which feed is taken from a supply hopper and distributed to feeding troughs.

Another object is to provide animproved feed conveying system for an automatic poultry feeder.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a schematic perspective of a poultry feeding system having a hopper and feeding troughs constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective of a modified poultryfeeding system particularly adapted for supplying feed to poultry in a multiple story poultry house.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan, partly broken away, of the feeding system of Fig. 1, particularly showing the supply hopper and the drive mechanism for the feed distributing apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the feed hopper and connected apparatus shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. Sis a fragmentary vertical section taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 3, and shown in perspective.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective of the portion of the supply hopper through which the conveyor mechanism enters the hopper.

' Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective of the portion of the supply hopper at which the conveyor mechanism dicharges feed from the supply hopper.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective of the fabricated trough used in the poultry feeder, with parts broken away to more clearly disclose the internal structure of the trough.

Fig. 10 is a plan, with parts broken away, of a turning elbow of the feed conveying system used with the present poultry feeder. I

ice

Fig. 11 is a vertical section taken along line 11-11 of Fig. 10. v Fig. 12 is a perspective of one end closure member of the feeding-trough of Fig. 9.

Fig. 13 is a vertical section taken along line 13-13 Fig. 18 is a fragmentary section taken along lines 18-18 of Fig. 17.

In Fig. 1 the reference numeral 19 indicates generally a feed supply hopper from which poultry feed is taken by a conveyor 20 which is driven by a power drive mechanism 21 (Figs. 4 and 5). The conveyor 20 moves the feed in a circuitous path and delivers the feed to successive open top feeding troughs 22 disposed along the path. While'only three feeding troughs 22 are illustrated in Fig. 1, it will be apparent that any desirable number of feeding troughs may be used within the limits dictated by the size of conveying unit and the power of the mechanism used to drive the conveying unit. In Fig. 2 an installation is shown wherein troughs 23 are disposed on an upper floor of a multiple story poultry house and are arranged to be supplied with feed from the same supply hopper 24 that supplies feed to troughs 25 on the main floor of the poultry house.

The supply hopper 19 (Figs. 3 and 4) is constructed of sheet steel and comprises an upper portion 26 having a vertical wall 27 and three inclined walls 28, 28a and 28b. The upper portion 26 communicates with a lower portion 29 that has vertical end walls 30 and 31, which are extensions of upper walls 28a and 27 respectively, and inclined side walls 32 and 33 (Fig. 6). Feed placed in the hopper will gravitate downwardly along the inclined walls 32 and 33 and accumulate in a pickup zone 34 (Fig. 6) at the lower end of the V formed by the walls. An endless chain 35 of the conveyor system 20 (to be described more fully hereinafter) enters the hopper 19 through an opening '36 (Fig. 7), travels through the feed in the pickup zone 34, and carries quantities of the feed out of the hopper through an opening 37 (Figs. 6 and 8). The rate at which feed leaves the hopper is inverted U-shape and extends longitudinally in the hopper I at the pickup zone 34.

an adjacent end wall of the hopper.

The rate at which the feed moves down into the pickup zone may be controlled by regulating the size of the openings 40 (Fig. 6) between the lower side edges of the shield and the bottom wall of the hopper. For this purpose, each end of the shield is adjustably secured to At the inlet end of the hopper (Fig. 7) the shield 38 has a slot 41 arranged to receive a hook 42 which projects from a plate 43 adjustably mounted on the end wall 31. At its opposite end the shield 38 carries a hook 44 (Fig. 8) in the form of a bent stud which extends through a slot 45 in the end wall 30 of the hopper and has an upturned threaded portion 44a adjustably held in a slot 46 in a mounting bracket 47 by means of a nut 48. It will be evident that by means of the adjustable end connections of the shield, the size of the openings 40 may be regulated to control the rate at which feed reaches the.con-. veying chain 35, which in turn controls the rate at which the feed is circulated through the system.

At its discharge end they hopper 19 has a tube 49 (Fig. 8) in which an observation port 50 is formed.

trough 22 is illustrated wherein only one length of body member 94 is secured between the end closures 95 and 96. If a longer trough is desired, two or more members 94 may be disposed in end-to-end abutting relation so that bolts 125 extending through the holes 126 in the stirrups will lock the adjacent ends of two members 94 together. Since the troughs are several feet in length, one or more stirrups 113, without the transverse plate 112, may be needed to support the trough intermediate its ends.

A feed agitating mechanism 140 (Figs. 5 and 6) is mounted inside the hopper 19 to prevent accumulations of feed on the upper portions of the hopper and to keep the feed around the pickup zone from forming a bridge over the shield 38. The agitating mechanism comprises a yoke 141 pivotally mounted near its free upper ends 142 on the opposite side walls of the hopper 19. A bar 144 is pivotally connected intermediate its ends to upstanding ears 1450f the yoke 141. The bar 144 extends through suitable openings in the end wall 31 of the hopper and in the housing 68 and is pivotally connected at 147 to a stub shaft 148 which is rigidly secured to and projects from the guide pulley 74. The stub shaft 148 is parallel to the shaft 67 of the pulley 74 but is ofiset therefrom so that, when the pulley 74 is rotated, the stub shaft 148 moves in a circular path and reciprocates the bar 144. The feed is agitated by arms 150 which extend downwardly from the bar 144 to a position on each side of the shield 38, as seen in Fig. 6, and the arms on each side of the shield are connected by longitudinal rods 151 (Fig. 5). Since this agitating mechanism is continuously in operation, the feed is maintained in a loose condition so that it can flow freely into the pickup zone 34.

In operatioma supply of feed is deposited in the hopper 19. A portion of the feed immediately gravitates to the bottom of the hopper where some of it passes through the restricted openings 40 between the side edges of the shield 38 and the hopper walls to accumulate in the pickup zone 34. The remaining feed is held above the shield 38 and is continuously agitated by the agitator 140. As the flights of the endless conveyor 20 contact the feed in the pickup zone and move it out of the hopper, a fresh supply of feed passes through the restricted opening into the'pickup zone. Since the level of feed main tained in the conveyor system is dependent on the speed at which the pickup zone is replenished, it will be evident that, by adjusting the position of the shield 38 to vary the size of the restricted opening the level of feed in the conveyor system may be accurately controlled.

The level of the feed in each trough is automatically maintained at the level of the lower edge of the lip 109 in the cover member 104 of the feed distributing conduit 88. Feed that is not discharged immediately into a trough is carried around the circuit until it escapes into one of the troughs.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the present invention provides an efiicient and economical poultry feeder. The unique design of the feeding troughs not only protects the poultry from injury by the moving conveyor but also assures an adequate constant level of feed in the trough. Since the conveying system is entirely closed except for the opening in the supply hopper and the bottom discharge slots in the trough, it is impossible for the fresh feed to become contaminated. Accordingly, there is no chance for disease to be spread through the feed and, additionally, there is no necessity for cleaning the conveyor which handles only fresh feed.

The use of a fabricated feeding trough which can be readily assembled in various lengths and the use of elbows, that operate equally well in a horizontal or in a vertical position, makes possible a flexibility of installation not attainable heretofore in poultry feeder systems.

it will be understood that modifications and variations of the disclosed embodiment of the invention may be 6 resorted to without departing from th scope of the novel concepts of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A poultry feeding system for moving feed in a path inaccessible to poultry, which system comprises: a' feed hopper having an inlet and a discharge opening; a feed ing trough having a bottom wall adapted to hold feed in a location accessible to the poultry, one side wall of said trough having means defining a feed-dispensing conduit having an inlet and a discharge opening, said feed-dispensing conduit being formed above said bottom wall and having a passage in the bottom side thereof through which passage feed is dispensed onto said bottom wall; a first conduit for connecting the discharge opening of said feed hopper and the inlet opening of said feeddispensing conduit; a second conduit for connecting the discharge opening of said feed-dispensing conduit and the inlet opening of said feed hopper; a conveyor driving means; and an endless conveyor driven by said driving means and trained to move longitudinally through said conduits and through said feed hopper for moving feed to and from said feed-dispensing conduit in a path which is closed against contamination.

2. The poultry feeding system according to claim 1 which includes means formed in at least one of said conduits for inspecting the feed being moved therein.

3. The poultry feeding system according to claim 1 including power means for said driving means, and means operatively connected to said endless conveyor for controlling said power means in response to operation of said endless conveyor.

4. A poultry feeding system for moving feed in a path inaccessible to poultry, which system comprises: a feed hopper having an inlet and a discharge opening; a feeding trough having a bottom wall adapted to hold feed in a'location accessible to the poultry, one side wall of said trough having means defining a feed-dispensing conduit having an inlet and a discharge opening, said feed-dispensing conduit being formed above said trough bottom Wall and having a passage only in the bottom side thereof through which passage feed is dispensed onto said bottom wall; a first conduit connecting the discharge opening of said'feed hopper and the inlet opening of said feed-dispensing conduit; a drive housing having an inlet and a discharge opening; a second conduit connecting the discharge opening of said feed-dispensing conduit and the inlet opening of said drive housing; means connecting the discharge opening of said drive housing and the inlet opening of said feed hopper; a conveyor driving means located in said housing; and an endless conveyor member driven by said driving means and trained to move through said conduits and through said housing and said feed hopper for moving feed to and from said feed-dispensing conduit in a path which is closed against contamination.

5. The poultry feeding system according to claim 4 which includes means formed in at least one of said con-' duits for observing the feed being moved therein.

6. The poultry feeding system according to. claim 4 wherein the driving means includes an idler wheel mounts ed adjacent said housing for maintaining a predetermined level of tension in said endless conveyor member, a switch for controlling the power to said driving means, and means connected to said idler wheel for operating said switch when conveyor tension drops below said predetermined level.

7. In a poultry feeding system, a feed containing hopper having an inlet and a discharge opening, a closed housing adjacent and connected to said hopper, means defining a conduit extending in a continuous circuitous path from the discharge opening of said hopper to the i11- let opening and including a portion of said closed housing, an endless conveying member mounted for movement through said conduit and through said hopper and ar ranged to engage feed in said hopper and move it out of cooperating with the side walls of said hopper to provide a pair of spaced feed-restricting passages to said pickup zone; adjustment means connected from an end wall to a respective end of said shield for adjusting the dimensions of said pair of feed-restricting passages; an agitator member pivotally mounted to each hopper side wall and having a frame portion movable in an oscillating path adjacent said restricting passages; an arm connected to oscillate said agitating member, said arm projecting through said slot outwardly of said hopper; an endless conveyor member; a power driven sprocket rotatably mounted exteriorly of said hopper and engaging said conveyor member for moving it through said pickup zone, and a pin mounted eceentrically on said sprocket and pivotally connected to said arm for oscillating said agitating member.

References ited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 10 Martin Mar. 20, 1923 Ousdahl Oct. 30, 1923 Woodhead Feb. 26, 1929. Varusky July 7, 1931 Twose Dec. 24, 1935 Bradshaw Dec. 3, 1946 Berthelot Sept. 25, 1951 Hansen June 24, 1952 Cordis Oct. 14, 1952 Virgil July 21, 1953 Wagner Sept. 22, 1953 Knutson June 15, 1954 Flannery et a1. Aug. 23, 1955 Hart Mar. 20, 1956 Hart Mar. 20, 1956 Small Apr. 17, 1956 Reese July 17, 1956 Martin et a1 Feb. 26, 1957 Cordis Mar. 19, 1957 Cordis Mar. 19, 1957 Keen et a1. July 9, 1957 Wallace et a1. Aug. 6, 1957 

